Urban Development / Real Estate

Despite geologic barriers and in the face of scientific advice, huge infrastructure projects of the 20th century brought water to the arid Southwest and fueled the growth of a megaregion. But now that era of infrastructure-enabled growth is over, leaving planners, developers and policymakers looking for new ways to sustain growth and rising demand amid diminishing resources.

With the one arm he had left after fighting for the Union during the Civil War, John Wesley Powell led a team of 10 men and four boats on what was likely the most extreme and adventurous fact-finding mission since Lewis and Clark stumbled upon the West Coast of North America. It was 1869, and this was neither the first nor the last river voyage Powell would command.

The green building standard LEED is moving beyond the structure and into the neighborhood. With the pilot phase of LEED for Neighborhood Development now underway, its organizers hope to establish a new way to create and evaluate environmental sustainability in urban design and development.

Environmental concerns have flooded into the public consciousness recently, and addressing these concerns is the new frontier of political correctness. With movies, television, and the popular media at-large increasingly tapping into the drama of climate change and environmental degradation, the past few years have brought about a widespread resurgence of the environmental movement. With that resurgence has come a boom in the green market: organic foods, hybrid cars, energy-efficient appliances, and on and on.

Urban development, demolition, and redevelopment has been a century-long pattern in Salt Lake City, Utah. As the city again ventures into a massive redevelopment project, former planning director Stephen Goldsmith wants the community to take a new look at what this change means for the city. And he's created a museum to help them do it.

No city is a stagnant place. Shifting demographics, lifestyles, and economic trends all influence the evolution of cities as they try to accommodate the desires and demands of the urban culture. Increasingly, this evolution is playing out in the downtowns of cities across the nation. One American city exemplifying this common state of flux is Salt Lake City, Utah. After years of decline, the city looks to be on the rebound.

From green building to the housing bubble, the editors of Planetizen review the most talked about stories of 2006.

Over the course of the year, the Planetizen staff editors review and post summaries of hundreds of planning and development-related articles, reports, books, studies, and editorials. Before we close the book on 2006, we like to look back through all the news stories and pick out the top planning issues and trends of the year, incorporating what Planetizen readers think is important from the popularity of each article we post. What follows are the top planning issues –- five in all -- that we believe were most important in 2006...

As part of a monthly series, we present a summary and analysis of some of the most interesting news to appear on Planetizen over the month of November 2006. This is the transcript of an audio segment that originally aired on the nationally syndicated radio program "Smart City".

In an effort to reduce traffic, cities across the globe are considering charging drivers to enter their most congested areas. Cities like London have implemented Congestion Pricing, which imposes a daily fee on drivers who enter certain high-traffic parts of the city. The New York Times reports that environmental and community groups in New York are pushing to impose congestion pricing in lower Manhattan during the busiest times of the day...